THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART

Archives and Collections

Currently based in the Whisky Bond, Glasgow, The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections still hold many of the items that were acquired as teaching tools in the School’s early period, including plaster casts, ceramics and metalwork. They also hold a range of artworks, architectural drawings, design work and archive material relating to former students and staff and continue to purchase work from student degree shows, in order to capture the changing teaching practices at the GSA and the wider art school landscape.

Our institutional archive comprises documentation about life at the School from 1845 to the present day and includes correspondence, photographs, ephemera, student records, minute books and reports which provide an insight into GSA’s people, buildings and activities.

Watch:

Introduction to GSA Archives and Collections

Explore: The GSA Archive https://gsaarchives.net

Governance Structure

The Glasgow School of Art is a Higher Education Institution and registered charity, and a legally independent and autonomous institution. The governance framework of the School comes from various Acts of Parliament, statutes, ordinances, and resolutions from which the School derives the power and authority to carry out its activities. There are two main components of the GSA’s formal governance structure – the Board of Governors and Academic Council, with the management structure headed by the Director.

Board of Governors

The primary responsibilities of the Board of Governors, which are set out in full in the Statement of Corporate Governance, include:

/ To ensure the effective management of the School and to play a key role in the development, approval and review of the mission and strategic vision of the School.

/ To be the principal financial and business authority of the School.

/ To safeguard the reputation and values of the School.

/ To ensure the quality of institutional educational provision uphold and to ensure the defence of academic freedom.

/ To oversee and monitor the development and implementation of the School’s Strategic Plan

/ To ensure the establishment and monitoring of systems of control and accountability, including financial and operating controls and risk management framework.

/ To ensure that processes are in place to monitor and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the School.

/ To support and enable the effective functioning of the Students’ Association.

/ To satisfy itself that the School operates with high levels of social responsibility.

/ To take all final decisions on matters of major concern to the School.

The Board currently has the following permanent committees, which are chaired by Independent Governors:

/ Audit and Risk Committee

/ Business and Estates Committee

/ Health and Safety Committee

/ Human Resources Committee

/ Museum and Archive Committee

/ Nominations Committee

/ Remuneration Committee

Academic Council

The Board appoints an Academic Council, which has the primary functions of advising the Director in relation to the overall planning, co-ordination, development and supervision of the academic work of the institution.

The Board receives regular reports from the Academic Council and must ensure that the Academic Council discharges its functions.

The Chair

The Chair, is responsible for the leadership of the governing body, and is ultimately responsible for its effectiveness. The Chair must act so as to maintain the confidence of the governing body and ensure the Institution is well connected with its stakeholders, including staff and students.

The Director

The Director is the Chief Accountable Officer of The Glasgow School of Art responsible for providing the Governors with advice on the strategic direction of the School and its management. The Director is accountable to the Board of Governors and is also the designated officer in respect of the use of SFC funds and compliance with the SFC Financial Memorandum.

Senior Leadership

The Glasgow School of Art’s Senior Leadership Team is led by the Director and Chief Executive – Professor Penny Macbeth. The Director is supported by the Senior Leadership Team with responsibility for the management of academic and professional service departments.

For further information about the GSA’s governance structures please visit https://www.gsa.ac.uk/about-gsa/key-information/ governance/